Three years in a row, Wayne Taylor Racing found themselves in contention in this race with less than ten to go. Three years in a row, it fell apart.

In 2014, a line-up of brothers Jordan and Ricky Taylor, joined by longtime team driver and mentor Max Angelelli and a one-off appearance by their father Wayne, came two seconds short of winning, unable to catch and pass Action Express Racing. In 2015, a drive time calculation error left the team disqualified from third, having spent the entire race up to that point as the only team keeping Chip Ganassi Racing's NASCAR and IndyCar star-stacked car honest. In 2016, the team lost in a duel with Pipo Derani, who throughout the 24 hours seemed to have fate on his side in one of the most incredible full endurance race drives of all time. All three years, the brothers, their mentor, and their team-owning father survived 24 hours as a leading contender only to come up short.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

In 2017, it wasn't an option. Angelelli, whom the Taylor brothers call an "uncle", announced his impending retirement before the race, and if he was to get a watch with this team, this would be his only chance to do it. When an eighteen month process came to fruition and their fourth driver was announced to be Jeff Gordon, their family storyline suddenly became a national one. By race weekend, the Cadillac DPi they were debuting was drawing national attention of its own as the first modern sports prototype run by GM since the Audi R8 days. Whether or not they were the team to beat, Wayne Taylor Racing's 1-car program, equal parts a humble family operation and anchor team to a massive new factory-supported prototype program, became the team to watch.

Early in the race, it was clear to many that a Cadillac DPi would win the race, but the two strong Action Express entries seemed more likely to lead a possible 1-2-3 sweep than WTR ever did. The reigning champions showed the early pace, with their #31 Whelen Engineering-backed car particularly quick under the control of Dane Cameron and impressive rookie Seb Morris. Both cars would fall off by night, however, opening the door for the #10 to start leading laps. When the rain began to fall it faced new competition from the #90 Multimatic Riley of VisitFlorida Racing, whose European-style LMP2 car had a higher downforce package than the three Cadillac DPis, but that car's pace dried with the race track, and once the #31 succumbed to steering issues caused by an optimistic outside pass that ended in the outside wall of NASCAR turn 1, the battle was between the #5 Action Express car and Wayne Taylor Racing's #10.

The two traded the lead throughout the race's final four hours, but their battle didn't reach full intensity until the final 30 minutes. Ricky Taylor restarted behind the #5, driven then by former Audi LMP1 driver Filipe Albuquerque, after what would be the final safety car, beginning a pursuit that would include two aggressive attempts to pass inside in turn 1 and two more equally aggressive moves on the outside in the International Horseshoe. Nothing stuck, however, and the battle wouldn't see any actual change until Taylor went inside into 1 the third time, that time forcing Albuquerque to defend. The Action Express driver shut the door hard, ultimately spinning himself and surrendering the lead. The incident was reviewed, but when the team received word that the stewards would take no action, the relief on the face of Wayne Taylor was visible. His family team would finally do what they had set out to do since being formed. Taylor's sons would win the race he had won twice before, Angelelli would win in his final race in the car, and semi-retired NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon would win in his first-ever start in a modern, high downforce sports prototype.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

DW Burnett / PUPPYKNUCKLES

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

An equally exciting battle in GT Le Mans saw a #66 Ford GT that led comfortably for the vast majority of the first 18 hours of the race able to hold off a train as large as six car in a final hour where finishing driver Dirk Mueller was never safe from pressure. He'd hold off the advancing foes, however, and win that class over the #911 factory-run Porsche 911 RSR, one of two debuting mid-engined 911 racers, and a #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTB that seemed to always be running in the top three. Notably, all three finishers are cars that are said to take advantage of the GTLM regulations in ways competitors aren't, cars that come under heavy scrutiny from the other three manufacturers competing in the class and its European equivalent, GTE-Pro. Mueller was joined in the car by Sebastien Bourdais and Joey Hand.

A capacity GT Daytona grid headlined by factory supported entries from Acura, Lexus, and Aston Martin, not to mention a Porsche run by the CORE Autosport team that also runs Porsche's factory GTLM program, was expected to go to one of the big name teams employing big name drivers. While those teams made immediate impact and led most of the race, it would be a battle between smaller programs that decided the final race, with the favored competitors slowly falling by the wayside in the race's last twelve hours. First it was the #15 Lexus, mired in mediocrity in qualifying and without a teammate after an incident in the race's first two hours, suffering a catastrophic right-rear tire puncture from the lead overnight. Then, it was the #93 Michael Shank Racing Acura, which didn't seem particularly quick until the rain hit, when the mid-engined car suddenly showed incredible pace. It sustained minor splitter damage around sunrise, and four hours later, the ever-worsening issue ended in a hood exploding off the car. Finally, the #53 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari would fall apart in catastrophic fashion, with a dramatic mechanical issue taking out the IMSA regulars with just hours to go.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

All of that trouble left a debuting Mercedes AMG GT3, albeit one run by Bill Riley's experienced team that once ran SRT's factory Viper GTLM program, an Audi R8 LMS from Montaplast by Land Motorsport, and a privateer Porsche from 2007 Rolex GT winner Alegra Motorsport in position to wage a three-way war for the win in IMSA's largest and most diverse class. Ultimately, the Alegra car would pull away on the last restart, with the steady hand of Porsche factory driver Michael Christensen guiding home a team of Daniel Morad, Jesse Lazare, Carlos de Quesada, and Michael de Quesada. The Audi and Mercedes competitors would complete the podium.

In its final year, Prototype Challenge drew just five entrants, most of which had trouble-filled days in cold, wet, and unforgiving conditions that were particularly cruel to what are the last five open cockpit cars left in top-level sports car racing. The #38 Performance Tech entry outlasted the field, with a driver lineup of James French, Patricio O'Ward, Kyle Masson, and Nicholas Boulle taking what will likely go down as the least contested class win in this race since the ill-fated GX category of 2013.

Though this race counts for championship points, IMSA's full season begins in earnest at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March. Grids of up to 40 cars are expected throughout the length of the season.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Road & Track participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.